Some Ortega neighbors are concerned that exposure to rat poison – rodenticide – could be causing the deaths of local wildlife.
Last month area residents discovered several downed birds – a pair of great horned owls, one adult male bald eagle, and two eaglets – exhibiting neurological symptoms associated with exposure to the toxin. Though trained volunteers intervened, collecting the birds and transporting them to veterinary specialists, all the birds died either en route or in quarantine. All the birds were discovered in the same vicinity of one another, with the eagle and eaglets coming from the same nest and the owls discovered just a block or two away, according to Kaye Lee, county coordinator for Duval, Clay and Nassau counties for the Audubon Society’s Florida EagleWatch program.
Lee said the trio of eagles that died are the mate and eaglets of Spirit. The same eagle lost her mate and two eaglets during eagle mating season last year.
“Spirit has lost everything – twice,” Lee said.
Lee said the symptoms she and other volunteers saw in the birds could have a variety of causes up to and including exposure to rodenticide. She noted it will still be months before necropsy and other test results come back to definitively say what killed the birds, though other signs in the area do point to the presence of a toxin like rodenticide.
“Raptor population is decreasing, squirrel population is decreasing, raccoons, other wildlife are not as prevalent as they once were, and those are all indications that there is a toxin somewhere in that area,” Lee said.
Lee pointed out that animals, including domestic pets, can fall ill, or even die, not just from ingesting rodenticide directly, but also from ingesting smaller animals, like rats, that have eaten it.
“Dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons – it goes right up the food chain,” Lee said.
The eagles that died nested in the same nest Spirit has now used with at least two mates, both of which died, exhibited similar symptoms before death during two consecutive mating seasons, in Yerkes Park.
Mary Cook, a volunteer nest observer for the Audubon Society, said these deaths have prompted some neighbors to band together to raise awareness about the dangers of rodenticide.
“I think that hopefully we can turn this tragedy into a wake-up call for the neighborhood and use this to let people know,” Cook said. “We plan on putting some signs in the park where the nest is.”
Cameron Lucie, an Ortega neighbor, is working to raise awareness of both the presence of these birds and the dangers posed by toxins like rodenticide.
“I think there’s still a lot to hash out about how to be active, but at this point, we would just love to get the word out that these tragedies have happened with these birds, and let people know that it’s real and the birds are dying,” Lucie said.
According to Lee, there are 46 known eagle nests in Duval County, with 16 in Clay County and 11 in Nassau County.
If anyone should come across a downed or injured bird, if able, they should carefully put it in a cardboard box with air holes; if they are unable to do so, Lee encourages people to observe the bird until help arrives. Residents can contact Lee directly at (904) 635-5384 if they find a downed raptor in the Duval County area.
